Sonic and Charlie
by PeaceGem4
Summary: It's amazing what friends you can make when you stumble into forgotten countries, isn't it?
1. Sonic

"Oof!" The fifteen-year-old blue hedgehog tripped over yet another tree root as he fumbled around in the mass of tangled branches and bushes. Sonic tried to get his balance right and up to speed again…but his foot caught in some thorns and he fell flat on his face in the mud. He hadn't anticipated the Forest of Lumiad to be this thick! Just an hour ago he'd been in the wide open countryside of his home planet Mobius.

_**One hour earlier**_

"Aren't you going to eat _anything_?" Amy asked, glaring at Sonic with her hands on her hips. She'd spent half an hour making chicken-and-mushroom risotto as a satisfying lunch for the hedgehog with a need for speed, and now he was refusing it.

"Seriously, I'm not hungry." Sonic lay back on the chaise lounge, the back of his head resting against his hands. "It was nice of you to make it, Amy, but I just don't fancy it right now."

"Huh! You mean I spent a whole half hour in that kitchen for nothing?"

"Not for nothing. Save it, maybe I'll eat it later."

Amy folded her arms. She was only just getting to grips with her cooking, and she would have rather liked someone to try the food she spent ages making and give her a relevant critique. And she would have _loved _it if that someone was Sonic the hedgehog – the boy of her dreams.

"There won't really _be _a later," she continued, trying to manipulate the hedgehog into relenting and tasting what she thought was a rather agreeable effort of a risotto. "It's already twelve and you know the others must be having their lunch by now." 'The others' was probably not the best adjective to describe Tails the fox, Cream the rabbit and Cheese the chao (although he didn't really count as a person, so that brought 'the others' to merely Cream and Tails), who had flown out to test the modifications Tails had made to Tornado X, Sonic's plane. They'd packed a picnic and would be out a good few hours more.

"Yeah, well…I guess I could go for a run before lunch. Work up an appetite?" Sonic gave Amy an artful, persuasive grin. It always worked. Amy gave in.

"Fine! But don't be too long. I don't want it to get cold."

"Not that there's much chance of being _too _long." Sonic leaped up off the couch and darted out of the door.

It wasn't Sonic's fault that he'd been born with unbelievable, almost unnatural supersonic running speed that was faster than sound. He could probably finish a double marathon before any of the other competitors had got more than two hundred metres past the starting line, but the wide-open countryside of the beautiful planet Mobius was quite another story. In all fifteen years of his life, Sonic had scaled the equivalent of the whole planet twice and was still wondering if, one day, he could run right around the circumference of the planet without stopping. But that would be exceedingly difficult, as almost three-quarters of Mobius was covered by water. Sonic wasn't exactly a huge fan of water.

Now he sped through the hills, mountains and forests like a lightning bolt, only stopping to enjoy the sight of a lake or get his breath back. He was working up an appetite, but it didn't bother him. As long as he was quite a way away from Amy, the annoying twelve-year-old he could never seem to get rid of, and would take more than twenty minutes to get back to her house, he was fine. He didn't really fancy trying her risotto anyway.

Flashes of green whipped past Sonic's eyes as he sped even further through the lush hills of Mobius. He grinned to himself as he realised how far he'd run now – at least a few hundred miles in half an hour, if not more. It was going to take a while to get back to the village, he was certain. Especially as faintly, in the distance, he could see the dark green dot that was the flourishing forest known as Lumiad on the horizon. The Forest of Lumiad always seemed a distant land to the uninformed inhabitants of Sonic's home village, but Sonic had zipped past it on many of his runs. He'd never actually been in.

"Well," the daring blue hedgehog thought to himself. "Now would be the perfect time." Increasing his speed, Sonic whizzed towards the exuberant-looking forest.

As he got closer, Sonic began to notice how tightly packed the trees seemed to be growing together. There were plenty of tree roots that he knew he might trip over, but it didn't distress him. As far as Sonic knew, super speed combined with jumping equals incredibly high jumps. Sure, the forest was dense, and he might trip over a few times, but he could pick himself up. He was fifteen, for goodness' sake, not five!

As Sonic finally entered the dense forest, he started to have second thoughts. The roots of trees were so twisted together on the forest floor that he could barely move his feet, and it wasn't long before…

THUD! Sonic's light-speed sneaker caught a thick root and he careered over, head-first onto the rough grass. His knees scraped the ground, consequently getting covered in earth. Picking himself up, Sonic brushed the mud off and stared ahead of him.

"Oh…holy…smokes…"

His eyes widened.

Running through this forest wasn't going to be easy at all. Tree roots were strewn along the forest floor in a convulsed pattern, and most of them were huge. They were as tightly packed as eggs in a box, some even overlapping each other like snakes in a hole. And Sonic noticed a few snakes were slithering about in the twisted mess. His tummy went tight for a second and he kicked a huge brown object right by his feet with all his might…but it only turned out to be a tree root. Sonic sighed.

"Well, I guess this won't be as tricky as getting away from Amy when she's in a temper," he smiled to himself, folding his arms. "It's only a bunch of tree roots. I can jump over them."

He decided he would do just that. Even if he couldn't get up to his maximum supersonic speed, the forest would be simple to clear.

"Like a show-jumping course without the pony."

Sonic shook his arms about to loosen them up, then slowly trod backwards to build up running power…

BUMP!

"Argh!"

The back of his heel hit a root and he flopped backwards into a bush. It made a rustle sound, then a horrendous scratching.

"Ow…"

Sonic, still lying down in the bush, looked at his arm. He had one, two, _six _cuts where the cruel sharp twigs had scraped against his skin.

"Aw, man."

The cuts stung like hell. Sonic pulled himself up out of the bush and gently fought for his footing. He gained it with difficulty. What was he doing here? Any idiot could realise that coming here wasn't a daring challenge. It was a huge mistake.

"I'd best get back. Trying Amy's food doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all." He wondered what the time was now. Had Tails and Cream returned from their Tornado-test expedition yet? Would Amy be worried (Yes, of course she would be. She always did get worried when Sonic was out for more than five minutes.)? Sonic scanned the place around himself for a way out.

"…Which way did I come?"

Sonic's heart sank as he realised the worse. He was lost.

Lost where? He had no idea how big the Forest of Lumiad was, or where he was in it. But Sonic wasn't a guy to panic. All he needed to do was run for a few minutes, and he'd be out. His legs started spinning, and at last he was running at max speed…

THUMP! "Argh!" THUD! "Yikes!" TRIP! "Oof!" SPLAT!

Sonic found himself face down, flat in a puddle of mud.

"Ewww…" As he pushed himself up out of the brown goop, mud oozed down his face, slipping easily. Sonic put his fingers to his chin and took a look at them.

"Shoot."

The tips of his white gloves had changed colour. Looking behind him, he realised he'd tripped over three roots, rolled over an earth mound, caught his foot in some thorns and careered head first into the mud. He picked himself up and wiped the rest of the disgusting black mixture from his face. Trying to run hadn't got him anywhere – he'd only got mud all over himself and even more lost. He scanned the overgrown landscape again, breathing heavily. It wasn't like Sonic to get out of breath, but just this once he was. Running his vision around, he saw no signs of anyone, or any way to get out…

"Hey, what…?" What was that, just to his left? A blob of white? No…it couldn't be…but it was! It was light! A gap in the trees, and the edge of the forest! For a moment, Sonic forgot his situation and revved up his speed…

"Wah!...Gah!...Oof!...Ow!...Kuuh!...D'oh!...ARGH!"

Sonic collapsed, finally out of the tangly mess of trees, senseless.


	2. Esavania

_Hey, guys! Sorry about this, but I've only just figured out how to do author's notes in stories. New facts aside, here's the second chapter of my story "Sonic and Charlie". I hope you all liked the first chapter, and I have a special request to make. If you read this, please leave a review, alright? Thanks! Lotsa love, Peace x_

-o-

"Sir?"

The small voice broke through the silence that Sonic had been hearing. He slowly realised he had come to, and found himself face down on the ground. It wasn't mud or tree branches though…it was soft grass and solid earth.

"Hello? Mr. Hedgehog?"

The voice spoke again. A girl's voice, perhaps about Sonic's age, right above him. It seemed to have a thick accent to it. It was smooth, with a little emphasis on the R's, but not much, and the O in "hedgehog" was deep and right from the back of the throat.

Sonic's vision was clearing. He heaved himself up from the rough ground, only to find his knees, stomach and chest caked in dry mud. "Ugh, yuck," he mumbled.

Suddenly something touched his shoulder. It was the hand of the young girl with the thick accent. "Are you all right, sir?" Sonic turned his head to find himself looking into the eyes of a beautiful honey-coloured hedgehog, although she was different to most he'd seen. She had two perfect, round, hazel eyes that were strangely mesmerising to look at, and long, soft, light-brown hair instead of quills. Sonic stuttered a little over his words.

"Um…y-yeah. Th-thanks." He felt strangely hypnotised by this girl's graceful looks. She smiled at him.

"You look tired. Would you care to come to mine? For a rest?"

"Umm…thanks. Yes please." Sonic uneasily let the girl take his hand, help him up and lead him along a small path that stretched to the left of where he'd fallen unconscious. "What am I doing?" he thought. "I don't even know this woman's name." He could suddenly stand it no longer. Plucking up some courage, he finally spoke to the girl.

"So, um…you got a name?"

"Mary-Jane Clarissa Faryl. But my friends call me MJ. How about you?"

Sonic was gaining his confidence back. "What? Who, me? Oh, they call me…"

"Stop!" MJ cut him off in mid-sentence. "Make no sound! Patrol soldiers!"

"Patrol soldiers?" Sonic was puzzled as MJ pulled him behind what appeared to be a small building. It wasn't flamboyant – just a simple, wood-and-brick hut that was no more than one story high, with a flat roof. It didn't seem to be bigger than one room either. But this was no time to sightsee. Sonic noticed that two burly figures dressed in red robes and silver breastplates were walking right past them. Even with the clothing, Sonic observed that one was a green porcupine, and the other was a pale-blue cat. And the cat was clearly a woman.

"It's surprising," whispered MJ, "but female Esavanian guards are more dangerous than male ones. We must keep quiet." Sonic was a little unnerved by her manner. They waited until the soldiers were out of sight, then MJ yanked Sonic around the building and into what appeared to be an alleyway.

"Are we in a village?" Sonic asked, rather loudly without thinking. MJ shushed him, then whispered "I hadn't realised the worst until I saw those soldiers. You aren't local to Esavania, are you?"

"Esavania?" Sonic whispered back. "Well, seeing as I don't have a clue what Esavania is, I have to say…no, I'm not."

"Then we have to get to my place as quick as possible! You are in grave danger, Mr. Hedgehog. In fact I am committing a massive offence just helping you. We will both surely have to face serious consequences if we are caught. Now hush…we must hurry!"

Sonic hushed, and hurried along with MJ pulling him by the wrist. His cuts did still sting, but they were on his other arm so it didn't matter too much.

It was at this moment that Sonic realised his stomach was rumbling. He hadn't actually had any lunch – that was supposed to be Amy's risotto, but of course he'd run into a forest, gotten lost etc etc. He bit his lip.

"Umm…sorry," he murmured to MJ. "But what time is it? I haven't actually had any lunch."

"It's ten to three," MJ murmured back.

Ten to three? No wonder he was so hungry! Sonic was used to having a light lunch at around half-twelve each day, and that was usually a sandwich and a drink. Not much, just enough to keep his energy going to satisfy his need for speed.

"Here." MJ suddenly pulled him around a corner towards another flat-roofed hut, except this one was a little bigger than the first one he'd seen. "I live here on my own. You can have something to eat if you like."

"Thanks!" Sonic grinned in relief. He was already starting to feel a little weak. MJ led him into the hut.

The inside wasn't any more elaborate than the outside, but it was rather cosy. It was a small, comfortable room with a wicker chair in one corner and a narrow archway leading towards another room in one of the walls. There was a plain, simple marble fireplace along a small section of one wall, with a chimney-post leading up to the ceiling. Beside that was a small wooden cupboard, which MJ walked over to now. "Sit down," she said. "I'll get you some food."

Sonic rested himself in the wicker chair, glad to be off his feet for the first time nearly all day. The chair was soft as feathers and he quickly settled down.

"Here," MJ's voice sounded above him. Sonic looked up to see her holding a plate with a few crackers on it in her hands. "Leftovers from my lunch," she said, placing them on his lap.

"Thanks," said Sonic, and took a bite out of one of the crackers. It was delicious.

"I'm sorry," said MJ. "But I don't think I caught your name. Did you tell me?"

"I was gonna," said Sonic, munching on the second cracker. "But you saw those guards and I had to keep quiet. They call me Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog." MJ stared at him in surprise. "What?"

"_The _Sonic the hedgehog?" she exclaimed. "The blue hedgehog, Sonic?"

"That's me."

"The Sonic the hedgehog who saved Mobius from domination several times?"

"Uh, well, yeah." Sonic couldn't deny it. He _had _saved Mobius multiple times.

"Oh, great sun of Esavania! The pleasure's all mine, Mr Sonic."

"Heh heh. Mister? Nah, leave out that bit. I'm only fifteen."

"Um…OK. But what brings you to this forgotten land?"

"Forgotten? No wonder I haven't heard of it! I was on a little run in the Forest of Lumiad when I…"

"The Forest of Lumiad? That's what separates Esavania from the rest of the world."

"It is?"

"Yes. It was planted there two years ago."

"Planted? But a forest can't…"

"You know how fast trees grow on this planet."

"Do they? I never thought they did…"

"But how did you end up here?"

"I tripped. The forest is so thick I fell over three tree roots, hit my head, cut myself on a thorn bush" Sonic gestured to the cuts on his arm, "and collapsed where you found me."

MJ bit her lip. "You do realise you've just broken the law."

"I've what?"

"Esavanian law clearly states that nobody must enter the kingdom unannounced. It was put into place a while ago, when we lost somebody incredibly important to us."

"Who?"

MJ shuddered. "I'd rather not talk about it," she said. "And come to think of it, I've broken the law too. I was supposed to hand you over to the government the minute I found you. But I couldn't…you just seemed so helpless and lost."

"Ha. Me? Helpless? You've gotta be kidding. Lost, maybe. But don't worry," Sonic stood up and put his arm around MJ's shoulders. "You did a good thing, MJ. Thanks for helping me."

She smiled at him. "My pleasure, Sonic. My pleasure."

BANG!

"Huh?" MJ looked away from Sonic towards her front door.

BANG! BANG!

"Who could that be?" she mumbled, and pulled away from Sonic to answer the door. As her hand reached the doorknob…

CRASH! It swung open with such a force that Sonic and MJ nearly jumped out of their skins. And it was double for MJ, because it was exactly who she'd hoped it wouldn't be. Guards dressed in very familiar red robes. _Guards_.

"Where is he?" one of them, a fierce-looking orange hamster, demanded.

"W…where's who?" asked MJ.

"The intruder! Who do you think?"

"Um…intruder? What intruder?" MJ tried to force a smile. But it was too late. Two other guards, a purple cat and a rather short owl, had moved into the small house and seized Sonic by the arms.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. "Hey, watch it, fellars. I've got cuts on my arm!" The guards didn't respond.

"Stop! No!" MJ yelled frantically. "What are you doing?"

"What are we doing?" the hamster said. "You've both broken the law. You, blue hedgehog, have entered Esavania with no identification of who you are, and you, ma'am, have committed a terrible offence assisting him!"

"Hey, go easy on her, will ya?" Sonic cut in, struggling with his surprisingly strong captors. "She's a good lady!"

"Quiet, convict!" the cat holding Sonic's left arm interrupted him. "You have the right to remain silent."

"Sorry," apologised Sonic, visible sarcasm in his voice.

"Both of you will need to face serious consequences," the hamster continued. "A caution for you, ma'am, and a sentence for you, sir."

"Sentence?" MJ cried. "Oh, that's right, give him the worse punishment! It's not even his fault that he ended up here! He was lost! Don't you realise who he is?"

"Silence!" the hamster shot back as MJ burst into tears. "Mew, Feather, we'll take this hedgehog to King Alfonso. He'll decide what sentence to give him."

"What kind of sentence?" frowned Sonic.

"No idea," said the owl, "but you'd better keep your mouth shut or it could be a death sentence." Sonic bit his lip. Surely this crime wasn't _that_ bad.

The three guards pulled Sonic out the door, leaving poor MJ weeping in her home. Sonic felt so sorry for her – she'd tried to be kind but had broken the law in the process. And what was this "Esavania"? More importantly, how had patrol soldiers managed to find him?

He was pretty sure he would find the answers to these questions soon, for after being led back through the village and into an open field Sonic found that they were approaching a magnificent building. A palace, the exact contrast to the simple huts back in MJ's village, and Sonic guessed that this must certainly be the home of a rich, if not royal, family. The guards yanked him along a path that ended at a massive wooden door, and as they approached it, it became obvious to Sonic that security was incredibly high. Because there were four more guards standing in front of it, and he could see more patrolling around the castle walls. One of the door guards spoke.

"Hello, Nibbles," Nibbles? Sonic found it a strain not to burst out laughing at the burly, fierce hamster's embarrassing name. "What's this? A trespasser?"

"Precisely, Moon. Got spotted with Mary-Jane Faryl in Trestelle Village. We're taking him to the king."

"Very good. Come in then."

The door creaked open, and Sonic's sight was met with a portcullis that towered high above his head and suddenly began to rattle as another guard turned a handle and it ascended with a creak.

"Tight security, huh?"

"Silence!"

Sonic rolled his eyes and sighed as he was led through yet another large wooden door, finally into the main castle building. And he was astonished at the sight that met his eyes. The hall was at least two stories high, and the ceiling held up with snow-white columns higher than oak trees. The wall was hung with fancy paintings, the art so intricate that Sonic guessed only a king could afford them. The floor was black-and-white chequered tile, but Sonic found he was being led along a deep crimson carpet that stretched along the great hall to yet _another _wooden door. He was dying to ask where they were going, but he wasn't going to risk infuriating the already-annoyed-with-him guards anymore. Just in case.

This next door was smaller, perhaps about the height of one of the larger huts in Trestelle Village that Sonic had seen while running with MJ. It also didn't creak as loudly when Nibbles the hamster opened it, and Sonic was even more astonished at the sight he saw. The room was basically the same sort of colour scheme as the great hall, only in the centre at the other end was a huge chair. A throne. Sonic could tell by sight that it was made of solid gold, and it had so many swirls and pictures carved into it that his eyes went funny trying to make sense of them all. Seated on the red velvet upholstery was a red hedgehog dressed in a midnight blue satin jacket with lapels at the collar, and with a glittering golden crown perched upon his quills. He was like MJ too – two large eyes and much more 'human' looking than an ordinary Mobian man, although he spoke with an ordinary Mobian accent. Sonic guessed he was the king.

"General Nibbles?" His voice sounded tired; perhaps he was quite old. "I see you found someone not local."

"Yes, Sire. He was seen running through Trestelle Village led by Miss Mary-Jane Faryl. We don't know how he got here, but we had no idea he was coming."

"What of Miss Faryl?"

"We've cautioned her, Your Majesty."

The king shifted his vision from Nibbles to Sonic. "Identify yourself, please, convict."

"Convict? Sheesh, I do have a name."

"Then please state it."

"They call me Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog."

The king's eyes widened for a second, then narrowed again. Sonic wondered what was up with him.

"Well, Sonic," he said. "You have trespassed on Esavanian land, and you will receive a sentence regardless of who you are. And besides, how do we know you aren't an impostor?"

"You don't, but I think you can be pretty sure. It was totally by accident that I ended up here. I was lost in that Lumiad forest. What's gonna happen to me?" Sonic had to admit to himself, he was getting a little scared. It had been a total accident, and this seemed so unfair, but it was true. He was trespassing. Plus he had no idea what kind of sentence he was going to get.

"Hm." The king's eyes narrowed again. "Well, sir, you have broken one of our most prioritised laws. So from now on, while you are on Esavanian ground you are under my control. Right now I think you need to spend a few days in the dungeon."

The dungeon? Oh, that was just great. Sonic had got lost, cut his arm, fallen in mud and now he was being held captive? This day was going well, wasn't it?

"The princess, Your Highness," Suddenly a voice sounded at the side of the room. All heads turned towards it, and Sonic saw a small purple sparrow leading a beautiful hedgehog through another door.

Sonic gasped. The princess was a pink hedgehog, with soft long hair that was tied in a high ponytail behind her head. She had a headdress with a jewel set in it that seemed to change colour as she walked forwards, and was wearing a short pink tunic with a belt of silver. Her feet were clad in white knee-high boots with two more colour-changing jewels set in the toes. Her pristine white gloved were outlined with a glittering pink stripe.

"Father?" she said. She spoke with the innocence of a child, but the maturity of an adult. "Father, what's going on?" She turned to look at Sonic. Her two eyes were a glittering shade of emerald green.

"A trespasser, Charlotte. He claims he arrived here by accident. I have just sentenced him to three days in the dungeon."

The princess's eyes widened. "Three days? But I thought he said he came by accident?"

"That makes no difference. He trespassed and that is that."

"Why, though? I did tell you, this law doesn't seem fair…"

"You know why it was introduced, my dear."

"I protest, Father…"

"Charlotte, remember you are not the highest authority here. I am. You will obey me as long as I am on this throne."

The princess bit her lip. "Yes, Father."

"Now please return to your bedroom."

The pink hedgehog looked at Sonic again, and seemed to shrug very discreetly. Then she turned on her heel and walked back through the door she'd come. The king turned to Sonic again. "Nibbles, Feather, Mew…take this intruder to the dungeon. He may claim to be a worldwide hero but we can't be sure."

"Wanna see me run?" Sonic mumbled under his breath.

Not quite under enough. The cat, Mew, heard him. "You won't be running anywhere tonight, pal."

Sonic let the tough guards lead him through yet another wooden door that opened to the top of a spiral staircase. This was just like the fairy stories he'd been told when he was little – the dungeon in the bottom of the castle, the place where convicts are held for their offences. Sonic tripped over as the guards pushed him into one of the cells.

"Don't get your hopes up, mister. You could be in there a while!" Nibbles shouted as the door banged shut with a crash. Sonic picked himself up off the floor and stamped his foot.

"Fantastic! Just fantastic!" He slumped back on the floor of the dark cell and put his head in his hands. What an amazing situation. He'd gone for a run, got lost in the woods, stumbled upon a forgotten kingdom and got himself captured. How was he going to explain all of this to Amy? "Oh, by the way, sorry Amy, I couldn't get back to your house to try your risotto because I got lost in the Forest of Lumiad, found a place called Esavania and got captured by the king's army and then thrown in the dungeon." Yeah, she would believe that. Sonic sighed again, pondering over how the heck he was going to get out of this mess…

-o-

_Uh-oh! Looks like Sonic's got himself into deep water here. How's he going to get out of the cell…and what's Amy going to say when he gets back?_

_For update info, check profile _


	3. Charlie

_Clink!_

Sonic looked up from his knees, wondering what the noise had been. He couldn't see anything.

_Clink!_

There it was again! It sounded like keys being carried.

_Pat-pat-pat-clink!_

Walking? Steps?

_CLUNK! CREEEEEEEEAK!_

Sonic stood and looked around again, and was suddenly blinded by a bright light. The cell door was open, and the silhouette of a small female hedgehog cast a shadow over it.

"Come on!"

"Huh?"

"I said, come on!" It was a girl's voice. The same one Sonic had heard earlier in the throne room. Had the princess come to his rescue? Without knowing what else to do, Sonic tiptoed towards the door and somebody grabbed his wrist. It was the figure. And now Sonic saw her in the light, she was a pink hedgehog with a ponytail, headdress, short tunic and knee-high boots. Princess Charlotte.

"Hey, what are you…"

"Shhhhh! We need to get up to my bedroom before my father notices!"

Sonic sighed. It wasn't the first time he'd been shushed that day.

The princess ran pretty fast, but it wasn't a problem for Sonic keeping up with her. He could have sworn she led him up three staircases and along a LOT of corridors without getting lost. She must know this castle like the back of her hand. But the two of them finally made it up to a grand-looking white door, not much bigger than an ordinary one, which the princess opened. Sonic's mouth fell open at the room. It was so white and so clean that his eyes were dazzled, and so grand that it could only be the room of someone extremely important. Which this girl was.

"Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed. "This is your bedroom?"

"Yup."

"You're lucky. I know somebody who'd LOVE a room like this."

"Well, you can tell her that when you've had it all your life it's nothing special." The princess gestured towards the bed. "Have a sit down. You're probably exhausted from today. And those cuts on your arm look pretty nasty."

Sonic's vision snapped towards his arm in surprise. She was right. The cuts did look awful. They'd stopped bleeding but Sonic could tell that if they didn't get cleaned soon he might get an infection. A bad one. Without knowing what else to do, he sidled towards the bed and sat on it. The cover was smoother than satin.

The princess lifted a cloth off a small bowl that was on the end table beside her bed, and dipped it into hot steaming water. "Here," she said, lifting Sonic's arm. "Keep still. This might sting a little bit." She gently started to dab at the cuts with the wet cloth. The blue hedgehog felt little surges of stinging pain whenever the hot water touched a cut.

"You don't talk much, do you?" The girl's voice startled him.

"Umm…sure I do," said Sonic. "I…argh!…was just wondering why you decided to help me out of there."

"I know truth when I hear it," said the princess. "You got here by accident, didn't you?"

"Heh heh. Yeah, after tripping over about ten times."

"See, there. I can tell you weren't lying. And I think that was a little mean of my dad, to lock you up for an accident."

"Oh yeah…so, you're…ow!…Princess Charlotte?"

She shuddered. "Don't call me that. Stupid name."

"Oh. Sorry, Your Highness."

"Ugh! That's even worse! No, I'm Charlie to my friends."

"OK…Charlie," said Sonic. "But what's up with Charlotte?"

"It sounds too…_regal_. Know what I mean?"

"Ow! Kinda."

"So who are you? I heard my father saying something about you claiming to be a hero."

"Who, me?" Sonic grinned as Charlie put the cloth down. "They call me Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog."

Charlie's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. "Oh my days! THE Sonic the hedgehog?"

"If you're talking about the one that can run at super-fast speeds and likes screw up the schemes of old Dr. Eggman, then that's me."

Charlie's hand went to her mouth. "I must be dreaming."

"Huh?"

"I've wanted to meet you ever since you foiled his first world domination plot a year ago. How many have you foiled since?"

"Lost count. But yeah, beating Eggman is pretty much how I spend my time."

"My father was MAD to lock you up. For all we know Eggman could be working on some crazy plan right now."

Sonic silently gasped a little. He hadn't thought of that. "I sure hope not," he murmured, and rose from Charlie's bed to look out of the window. "And for all I know he could be attacking my friends."

"Your friends?"

"People in my village. I went for a run to get away from them for a bit but…well, _voila_."

Charlie stared in wonder at this strange person in her room. Sonic the hedgehog, a world-renowned hero, was actually IN her bedroom. _Her _bedroom. She couldn't quite believe it…and she couldn't quite believe her father for locking him up.

"So basically," Sonic was speaking again. "I haven't the faintest idea where I am or how I get home. I can't sneak out the castle because, well, you know the guards'll be looking for me the minute they find me gone."

"I could sneak you out, but…"

"But what?" Sonic's head snapped quickly so that he was looking at her.

"I want you to stay. For a bit. Not long. It's just I've never really met a hero before."

Sonic smiled. He admitted to himself that he'd taken a shine to the princess. She was beautiful, and she seemed kind. After all, she'd helped him out of the dungeon, hadn't she?

"All right," he said. "I'll stay for a little bit. But I'll have to go sooner or later."

"Later?" Charlie's eyes lit up.

"Maybe."

The pair grinned at each other. They were friends.

_Bump! Bump! Bump!_

The sound echoed from behind the closed bedroom door. Charlie gasped in panic. "My father!" she cried, and began to push Sonic towards the brilliant white wardrobe. "Hide in there…quick!" And before Sonic could protest, the pink hedgehog had opened the door to the wardrobe and shoved him inside.

It was dark in there. Sonic couldn't see his white glove in front of his face, but he found he could rely on his sense of touch. He felt around, expecting to feel smooth satin clothes that would typically belong to a princess. But he didn't.

"How are you doing, Charlie?"

"Never better. Don't worry."

Sonic recognised the first voice. Charlie must be talking to her father!

"Hey, look, I'm sorry I was a bit quick-tempered back in the throne room. But you know a prisoner is a serious business."

"Yes, I do know, Father. And it's fine, you don't need to worry. I just think you were being a bit hard on him, but hey, can never be too careful, can you?"

"No, Charlie. You can't. You do understand that he could be dangerous – he may claim…"

"I know. He could be an impostor, in which case I need to watch out, right?"

Sonic shifted in irritation.

"You're learning. That's good." There was a pause. "But you're right, Charlie. Maybe I have been a bit too paranoid. This guy's probably nothing."

"Yes, Father."

"Anyway, you get some rest, OK? Long day tomorrow."

"Mmm. See you tomorrow then."

"Goodnight, Charlie."

Sonic heard the sound of the bedroom door opening and closing. He waited until he was sure the king was out of earshot, and then burst out of the cupboard.

"Dangerous? Impostor? Probably nothing? Who the heck does he think he's talking about?" He stopped as he realised it was Charlie's father _he_ was talking about…plus he'd almost made her jump out of her skin. "Sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's fine," said Charlie, shaking herself over and regaining her composure. "I agree with you. You don't seem like an impostor to me – you seem nice."

"Heh heh…thanks!"

"Besides, my father has been acting rather different lately. Paranoid, you know?"

"Heard."

"He always talks to me before I go to bed. Always calls me Charlotte in public, and then suddenly goes back to calling me by my nickname." She yawned. "Speaking of bed, I'm pretty tired. Must be at least nine by now."

"Nine? How long was I in that cell?" Sonic had completely lost track of time since he'd been dragged out of MJ's house. Sure, he had been given some dinner in the cell, but that only indicated it was around five or six. He'd sure been in there a while.

"You can sleep on there if you like," said Charlie, indicating her bed. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

"Nah, it's your bed," said Sonic. "You have it. I'll go on the couch." Sonic admitted that he was rather eager to sleep on the couch next to the wardrobe. It looked incredibly comfortable, even if it wasn't as soft as Charlie's bed.

He was right. The couch was spacious, cushiony and smelt beautiful. Slumber heaven, thought Sonic. When Charlie had changed into her nightgown ("Do you mind?" Sonic covered his eyes!) and brushed her hair, he kicked back and relaxed properly for the first time all day.

"I'll see you in the morning then." Charlie curled up delicately underneath the snow-white blankets on her bed. "Goodnight, Sonic."

"'Night, Charlie. Swell meeting you." Charlie blew out the small candle that was on the cabinet next to her bed, and the white room went black.

Sonic pondered on his strange afternoon. He'd only gone for a harmless run and ended up here. He was still wondering how he was going to explain this to Amy…he shuddered at the thought of that hammer of hers. He didn't want it coming down on his head.

These thoughts disturbed Sonic, but not enough to stop him suddenly dropping off into a comfortable, deep, dreamless sleep.

Miles away, on a cliff near Angel Island, a tall human sat at a control board flicking switches, pulling levers and being dazzled by flashing lights. He was overweight – and his body, which resembled the shape of an egg, almost squashed the minute stool he was seated upon. He wore a long red coat, with tails that reached the back of his knees, and a huge auburn moustache seemed to sprout right out of his massive, triangular nose. Perched on the top of his head was a pair of grey goggles that for a reason that even he didn't know were never put over his eyes. This man was Mobius's worst nightmare – and Sonic's archenemy. He was Dr Eggman.

"Are preparations almost complete, Doctor?" Decoe, a tall, cylindrical gold-plated robot stood by the scientist's right side. His short, stubby, silver-plated look-alike Bocoe stood on the left. Decoe and Bocoe had been invented by Dr Eggman to assist his world domination plans, however so far most of these had been thwarted by Sonic.

"Patience, Decoe. Remember this is my plan, not yours."

"But we are anticipating so much, sir!" piped up Bocoe. "We can't wait until…"

"Silence! You two will get your satisfaction in a few minutes, I promise. That hedgehog won't know what hit him!" Eggman gave a sinister smile as he flicked a few more switches. "Argh!" He shielded his face as there was a pop, then a fizzle, and sparks flew out of the machine. "Grrrr! I thought I told you 'bots to fix the glitches on this thing!" Decoe and Bocoe glared at each other.

"Why didn't you do it?"

"Me? I thought you said you'd do it yesterday afternoon!"

"I never!"

"Yes you did! I've got lie-detecting technology, Decoe!"

"Well, matter of fact, so have I, and it seems to be alerting me!"

"QUIET!" Eggman spun round and gave the two robots a whack on their metal heads. "Stop bickering, you stupid lumps of tin! Neither of you have lie-detecting technology! Now focus!"

Decoe and Bocoe glared at each other again, and turned back to the controls.

"Now," said the evil doctor. "Everything is finally ready. Decoe, Bocoe, prepare to witness Phase #1 of the plan that will not fail! Muahahahaha!"

"Ooh, I can hardly wait!" Bocoe started hopping upon his metallic feet.

Eggman's fat finger slowly began to move towards the red button…

"DR. EGGMAN!" A high-pitched, squeaky voice rattled through the small control room as a tiny navy-blue robot burst through the door. "I'VE GOT NEWS! I'VE GOT TERRIBLE NEWS!"

Eggman jumped so violently that his large body flew forward and landed on the controls.

"_Detonation Sequence Activated_," a robotic voice announced. Eggman thumped his knee.

"Not quite the spectacular moment I was hoping for," he mumbled crossly. "But what is it, Bokkun?"

Bokkun, Eggman's jittery little messenger robot, seemed to be shaking on his stiff legs. His lip trembled as he broke the news.

"Sonic the hedgehog isn't in his home village," he mumbled, full of fright, bracing himself for the doctor's wrath…

"WHAAAT?" He certainly prepared himself well. Dr Eggman rose out of his chair and stamped his huge feet on the iron floor. "You have to be kidding me! I hate that blasted hedgehog!" He clenched his fist and thumped it against the wall. "Just when I was so close! Why does he always have to dash off at the last minute?"

"Uh…if you don't mind me cutting in," Decoe piped up.

"What is it _now_, Decoe?"

"Even though the hedgehog himself was not present, the detonations will still cause mass devastation in the area," Decoe explained. "If he sees what happened, he will try to help and walk straight into a trap…"

"Perfect! Why didn't I think of that before?" Eggman thumped his head. "Good thinking, Decoe. The bombs I planted may not have killed Sonic, but they will have caused a massive inconvenience. Wherever that hedgehog is, he'll soon no doubt return. Then he'll see the problem, and try to help, but we'll be there waiting for him! Muahahahaha!" The doctor laughed wickedly again, and the three robots wisely laughed with him.

"You said it, Doctor!" Bocoe grinned. He was glad…so far this plan was working just fine.

-o-

_Oooh, tension! Eggman's already tried one attempt to kill Sonic – what could his ultimate plan be?_

_For update info, check profile _


	4. Mysterious Explosions

"Where _is _he?" Amy cried out yet again, pacing the square for the millionth time. She kicked her house wall. "Where _is _he?"

"Please calm down, Amy!" Cream, a little yellow six-year-old rabbit, pleaded desperately. "You've asked that question…how many times…"

"Two hundred and fifty-eight. I've been counting." The eight-year-old gold fox wiped his brow. Tails couldn't help it that he was so observant and intelligent, but he was a little worried about his best blue buddy too. Sonic had been gone since yesterday, and nobody knew where he'd got to. Amy was in hysterics.

"Where _is _he?" she yelled for exactly the two-hundred-and-fifty-ninth time. "Where has that silly blue idiot got to?"

"Not like you to talk trash about Sonic," Tails observed.

"I'll talk about him how I like!" Amy whipped back in Tails' face. "He's being an idiot for not showing up since yesterday!"

"Maybe he's just run into a problem. Or got caught by Dr. Eggman…" Cream shuddered at the thought, and her little pet chao1 Cheese shuddered with her.

"DON'T YOU DARE GIVE ME THOSE IDEAS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO SONIC!" exploded Amy…but she saw Cream cowering and came to her senses. "I'm sorry, Cream. I didn't mean to frighten you."

Cream grinned. "It's OK, Amy."

"Choo! Choo!" Cheese did a little caper in the air.

Amy smiled, then resumed her worried frown. "I still have no idea where Sonic could be though," she mused aloud. "I mean, he likes danger and exploring and all, but it's really not like him to just disappear into thin air. What do you think, Tails?"

Tails had gone back to flicking through files on his little computer. He was oblivious to what Amy had just asked him.

"Mr. Tails?"

"Tails? TAILS!"

Tails nearly jumped out of his fur. "Huh…what?"

"What do you think about this situation?"

"Uh, yeah…it's weird. Very weird," said Tails without thinking. His mind was somewhere else.

_BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_

"What the…?" All four heads snapped around to see a large cloud of silver smoke gathering in the alley, and yellow flames licking nearer to them by the second. Cream screamed.

_BOOOM! BOOOM!_

Two more booms shattered the peace in the village. Cream screamed again, and this time Amy screamed with her.

"Don't panic!" shouted Tails. "Just everyone, get out of the village!"

For a second there was pandemonium. The streets were filled with charging villagers, frantic mothers, yelling children, desperate fathers, screaming babies. Tails grabbed Amy and Cream by their arms and began to pull them towards the outskirts of the village, Cheese flying as fast as he could to keep up with the surging crowd, the golden-haired fox in front. Tails growled to himself. "Maybe Amy's right, Sonic! Where are you, you silly blue idiot?" he thought.

The villagers watched as the last of the flames were put out by the rain that had come at exactly the right moment. The village was a catastrophe. Some houses had stayed intact, but there was a great deal of rubble from the ones that hadn't. And Amy gasped when she walked back into her house.

"Oh, no!"

Everything was black from the smoke, and it stank. She put her face in her hands and fought back a few tears. Tails, noticing this, made a gallant effort to comfort the pink hedgehog. He walked up to her and put his arms around her.

"It's OK, Amy. I bet you're not the only one with this problem. We'll all help to get things back on track, won't we, Cream and Cheese?"

Cream and Cheese nodded, but they didn't look so sure.

Tails cuddled Amy some more, attempting to look like everything was going to be fine. But he wasn't that certain himself. Where could Sonic have got to? Was he…dead?

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" The cheerful girl's voice broke the tranquillity. All Sonic could feel was the smoothness of clean sheets and the dreadful need to stay where he was…until he felt a sharp kick in his side.

"Hey!" His eyes clicked open to see Charlie standing above him, already fully dressed and hair tied up, hands on hips.

"You're awake now?" she said. "I was out of bed two hours ago."

"Mmm…" Sonic mumbled, turning over. "What time is it?"

"Nine in the morning."

"Jeez, how early do you royal folk get up?"

"I brought you some breakfast."

Sonic sat up with a start. He'd only just realised how hungry he was. "Breakfast?"

"Yes, breakfast." Charlie gestured to a tray that she'd placed on the cabinet beside her bed. "Don't tell me people where you come from never have breakfast." She sighed and flicked her ponytail behind her head. "Had to fight to get it up here. Normally I'm expected to stay at the table until I've completely finished everything set in front of me on my plate."

"How'd ya get it up then?"

"Made up some excuse about not feeling well. My mother had the food sent up to me. One of my ladies-in-waiting brought it."

"Wha…did she see me?" Sonic panicked.

Charlie grinned. "Let's just say I can be pretty sly." She patted the silver tray. "So. Dig in."

Sonic took a peek at what was on the tray. "Whoa! That is way past cool!" It was a warm cheese omelette, with two strips of streaky bacon laid beside it, and a few cherry tomatoes. "Talk about delicious!" He took the knife and fork that were set on the edge of the table. "This is what you eat every morning?"

"I get more. But of course I can't eat it all, can I? So I wait until I'm alone in the dining room and then throw the stuff I don't want in the bin."

"So is this the stuff you throw away?"

"Normally, yes. I only eat some of the bacon, the toast and usually the egg. But I thought you might want that today. Especially as I only like eggs when they're scrambled."

"Heh heh!"

Charlie perched on her bed opposite him. She picked up a small roll of paper that was laid beside where she sat and unrolled it. Sonic stopped eating for a second as he realised what it was.

"You read the news?"

"It can be interesting."

The blue hedgehog sat digging into the food while she flicked through the paper. There was a peaceful silence for a little bit, until Charlie folded the paper and narrowed her green eyes at Sonic.

"How old are you?"

He was a little surprised at the question. It was the last thing the hedgehog would have on his mind when meeting someone important. He put down the fork.

"Fifteen. Why?"

"Look here."

Sonic paced over to the bed as Charlie held the newspaper up so he could read it. His jaw fell open as he read the headline.

**SONIC THE HEDGEHOG REPORTED MISSING**

Many people have been shocked by the sudden and abrupt disappearance of everyone's beloved blue hero, Sonic the hedgehog. Last seen yesterday at 12 noon in his home village of Green Hill, it was reported that he had gone for a regular run to work up an appetite for his lunch (information given by Miss Amy Rose) and did not return. Then this morning at 8:00am, mysterious detonations occurred in Green Hill at various points around the village. Sonic the hedgehog did not show up to help, as he normally would have according to best friend Miles "Tails" Prower, and police forensic analysts, when investigating the sources of the detonations, discovered the easily recognisable logo of none other than the dastardly Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. Details have been given that the missing Mobian will be difficult to spot as he typically moves faster than the speed of sound, but should anyone think they see him remember he is sixteen years of age, average Mobian height and wears noticeable red shoes with white straps and gold buckles.

"I was just puzzled," said Charlie. "Because this report says you're sixteen, but I'm sure I heard somewhere that you're fifteen…"

"They got my age wrong again," said Sonic, slumping next to her on the bed. "But that's not what got me straight in the gut."

"Then what did?"

"Eggman."

Charlie scanned the report again. "Ah." _Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik_. "I forgot about that."

"He's attacked Green Hill Village. That's my home."

"But it looks like your friends are OK. The report said your best friend told them something about you."

"Good old Tails," smiled Sonic. "And it sounds like Amy survived too. Cream and Cheese will have, because there's no way Amy would have let old Egghead do anything to them."

"So you don't think anyone was hurt?"

"I sure hope not." The green-eyed hedgehog put his face in his hands and rested his elbows on his knees. "But I'm really sorry, Charlie. I have to go. I'll bet Eggman is looking for me right this second, and if I go back to my village he'll be there waiting for me. I need to go to his base and give that a clobbering, but I have to find it first. Can you help me get out of Esavania?"

Charlie looked at the floor, her disappointment obvious. She'd hoped he'd be able to stay a little bit longer than one night, but now that Dr Eggman was on the loose again she needed to help him get out of the kingdom so that he could save the planet. Her unexpected meeting with the hero of Mobius had come to an abrupt end. Unless…

"Umm…Sonic," She gazed at him again, and he looked up at her. "I know this is unexpected, and you're probably not even going to think about letting a thirteen-year-old do this, but…"

"But what?" asked Sonic. He wondered with anticipation what she was going to ask him.

"Can I come with you?"

…

"Did I hear that right?"

"I think so."

"You're asking me to let you come along?"

"Mm-hm." She crossed her legs. "Not too much to ask, is it?"

Sonic hesitated. He liked Charlie a lot already – she was kind, pretty and friendly and he certainly wouldn't mind her accompanying him on a mission. But he knew that she'd seen him in glory, always knocking the daft doctor to the ground with a spin-dash and a kick. She was naïve to the awful struggles and violence that defeating an enemy really involved. The press really romanticised his adventures.

"I'm not sure …"

"Pleeeeeeease? I've never been outside of Esavania. Never seen the rest of Mobius. Hardly even seen outside this castle."

Sonic thought again. He couldn't leave her here; not after all she'd done for him. And she'd never set foot in the outside world before…he couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the Esavanian princess.

"Alright Charlie, I'll make you a bargain." The blue hedgehog straightened up on the sofa. "You help me get out of Esavania without somebody spotting me, I'll let you come with me to give Egghead a scrambling. Deal?"

Charlie grinned. "Deal."

-o-

_Heh! Looks like Charlie's up for a bit of adventure, provided she can help Sonic out of Esavania. How's she going to do that, I wonder?_

_For update info, check profile _

1 Even though this is spelt Chao, it's actually pronounced "chow".


	5. The Search Begins

"This should be strong enough," Charlie showed him the rope. It was extremely thick and looked incredibly new. "It's coated in wax so it doesn't unravel."

"Clever," Sonic nodded. "Pity nobody ever finds out about these Esavanian crafting techniques."

Charlie grinned and started to uncoil the rope. "The distance from my window to the ground is about eighty metres," she explained. "This rope is a hundred and fifty metres long, so we should be able to tie it to something in here and climb down."

"Climb?" Sonic chuckled. "Have you any idea how long that takes? Nah, we can abseil."

"Abseil?" She looked perplexed. "But we're not going on water…" She trailed off as she noticed Sonic was stooping with laughter.

"Ha-ha-haaa! Water? No! _Ab_seiling. You hold on to the rope and walk backwards down the wall. Don't tell me you've never had a go!"

She shook her head.

"Ma-an, you haven't seen much, have you? It's easy. I'll show you how to do it tonight, when we go. What's your plan?"

Charlie's smile returned. "I sketched it out." She put the rope down and unrolled a piece of paper that had been in her hand. She pointed to a pair of vertical parallel lines at the left side of the page that were about 6cm apart. "That's my tower. We attach the rope to something in this room," She gestured to her dresser. "That for instance, and throw it out the window. Then we _abseil _down the wall" Her gloved finger traced down the line on the right, "and reach the ground." She pointed to another few lines on the space next to the 'tower'. "I could lead you to the border, but at night it's patrolled by more guards than realms of Mobius. And you don't want to get stuck in the Forest of Lumiad – you'd trip over before you'd entered the thick of the wood."

"Learned that the hard way," mumbled Sonic.

"So we'll have to take another route to get out. Behind Castle Esavania there's another forest – it's thick but at least you don't fall after your first step in. I've walked there a couple of times and run pretty fast…"

"How fast?"

"Well, I'll never be as fast as you, will I? Anyway, there are fewer guards there, but they're sharp-eyed. We'd have to be pretty stealthy to get past them."

Sonic put his arms behind his head and leaned back. "Charlie, don't you know how fast I am? We can get past those nutcases without them even seeing us. All they'll feel is a little breeze."

"A little breeze?" Her eyes widened. "You can't go that fast!"

"Just watch me," the blue hedgehog grinned at her. "We'll go tonight, right?"

She hesitated. "Well, actually it might be safe to go now, because you wouldn't expect an attack in the daytime…"

"Safe? Screw safe. What thrill is there in an adventure if you're safe all the time?"

Charlie bit her lip. She hadn't expected the legendary blue hero to be this cocky and daring. She thought heroes tried to protect people, not lead them into danger. Was she beginning to regret asking to go with him?

"But you know I can't run as fast as you," she said. "How am I going to keep up?"

"You won't have to. Just wait till this evening."

Miles away, on an island that floated in the sky, a sixteen-year-old echidna dozed in the late afternoon sun. Though his eyelids were hovering between half-open and shut, he knew he couldn't fall asleep for fear that the precious gigantic stone set in the altar behind him would be stolen, or destroyed, or even just lose its power in one way or another. For that stone, the Master Emerald, was exactly what kept Angel Island from plummeting into the ocean.

The echidna rubbed his eyes. He wanted a nap like a dog wants food, but when you bear a burden as big as the duty of guarding the ancient artefact there is no room for sleep. He heaved himself up from the grass and strolled in a few circles around the shrine to try and wake himself up. It didn't work. The young guardian only found his headache growing even worse. Yawning, he stretched his back against the Master Emerald and put his hands behind his head. At least that way he would feel it if the precious gem three times his size was yanked from its secure position. He finally let his eyelids grow heavier until he could hold them up no longer.

No sooner had the young echidna almost dozed off, when he felt a surge of odd energy through his lean body. His eyes snapped open – that was the signal that a Chaos Emerald was only a small distance away from the Master! Forgetting his need for slumber, the echidna leapt from his resting position and scanned the landscape. He could sense that the emerald was incredibly close by. It might even be on the island.

"I'm still not sure about this," Charlie mumbled. "I've never been too fond of heights…"

"Relax!" Sonic teetered on the windowsill, gripping the rope with ease. "I never used to be, but experience has led me to believe that the best way to cure a fear is to face it head-on."

"Well," Charlie retorted. "Experience has led ME to believe that if you fall from a huge height you're done for."

"Who said anything about being done for?" asked Sonic. "Honestly, Charlie, if I'm with you, being done for doesn't enter the picture."

Charlie's gaze wavered uneasily over the way Sonic was balanced. Her vision traced the rope to where it was tied around her bedpost. Maybe it could do with another knot…

"OK, if you think this is such a good idea, show me by going down first."

"Gladly!" grinned Sonic. He gave the rope a flick and disappeared behind the bottom of the window in one smooth leg movement. Charlie's heart pace quickened – had he fallen?

"Sonic!" she yelled, and ran to the windowsill to lean over. She needn't have worried. Sonic had pushed his feet securely into craters in the tower wall, and was leaning backwards holding the rope with one hand.

"That enough to convince you?" His mouth stretched into a manipulative smile. Charlie glared at him.

"No! You had me on a thread there!"

"Heh heh!" Sonic took hold of the rope with his free hand and the smile changed from manipulative to sympathetic. "Don't worry, Charlie. It's OK to be scared. Just climb out of that window and grab the rope. Don't think about how high up you are. Tell yourself that after a couple of minutes it'll all be over and you'll be down. Come on, it was your idea to go out this way!"

Charlie sighed. It was her idea, and now she was regretting suggesting it. But she had suggested it, and now it had to go ahead.

"Come on, Charlie. I'll catch you if you fall," coaxed Sonic. "You know you can do it."

The young princess bit her lip. "OK," she said. "But if I do fall to my death, I want my last words to be 'For Mobius'. So I'm not going to talk now until I get to the bottom. All right?"

"All right."

"For Mobius."

Charlie sat on the windowsill and gently eased her legs out into the open. Her left hand gripped the rope while she gently edged herself off the sill…

SCCRRAAPPE!

"ARGH!" Charlie yelped and clasped the rope as the soles of her boots burned with the friction of shoe against wall…and slowed to a shaky stop.

"It's alright! You're OK!"

The pink hedgehog took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"OK, now just ease yourself down the wall. Put one foot at a time behind the other and loosen your grip a little so that the rope slides through your hand. That's it, that's it! One step at a time."

Charlie loosened her grip just enough to let the rope slide through her fingers, but not enough to send her plummeting down to the ground, and gently placed her left foot behind her right.

"You're doing it! Keep going!"

One step at a time, the hedgehog told herself. Left behind, right behind. Left behind, right behind. Don't let yourself panic.

"Almost there! You're doing great!"

Left, right. Left, right.

"Sonic! I'm OK! I'm not going to fall!"

"Hey, you spoke!"

"Well, for some reason I think falling to my death isn't the only result of this anymore."

"Really? You're going a bit fast…don't give up your grip…oh, no! Charlie, you're slipping!"

"ARGH!" Charlie yelped again and grasped the rope, her muscles tensing…then relaxing again when she heard cocky laughter from below.

"Gotcha!"

"That wasn't funny."

"Aw, come on! What's an adventure without a little danger? Keep going, I'm actually on the ground now."

Charlie loosened her hands and eased herself downwards a little further, and felt herself fall into strong arms.

"There. That wasn't so bad, was it?" said Sonic, placing her on the grass. Charlie glared at him again.

"No, it wasn't until you scared the life out of me."

Sonic spluttered as he stifled laughter. "Sorry, can't help that." He rubbed the end of his nose. "You'll have to get used to it."

"Sure hope I do," replied Charlie. "Anyway, there's a route through those woods to a border that leads us around Lumiad, but it's pretty heavy-guarded. I think we should…"

"Guards. Robots. Dummy-heads. All the same to me. Come on, show me this forest."

Charlie hesitated. "Um…I don't know…it's kind of scary at night…"

"If you're worried about ghosts, they seriously don't mean any harm," said Sonic. "And I don't think we'll be seeing any – after all, they're only kids' stories."

"Kids' stories? If you say so," Charlie frowned. "But that's the only two things I'm scared of; heights and ghosts."

"And I'm scared of water," the hedgehog replied. "We've all got our fears. So if somebody's scared of one thing, somebody who's not can stay by their side. I'll stay by yours in the wood."

"And I'll stay by yours if we have to cross a lake," grinned Charlie. Sonic grinned back. He really did like this girl.

"So where is it?"

Charlie's smile faded, and she pointed past his left. "That way, behind the castle. I can see it from the drawing-room window. It gets really dark at night."

"No biggy. We'll use the moon as a light source."

"That's the problem. The canopy's so thick it completely blocks out the moon."

"Well, we'll go through without a light then."

"OK, whatever you…wait, _what_?"

Too late. Sonic had seized her by the arm and was pulling her in the direction she had pointed – at breakneck speed. She stumbled, tripped…and Sonic skidded to a halt as he heard his companion scream.

"Sonic! What are you doing? I can't run that fast!"

Sonic gave her one of his trademark cocky grins. "It's alright," he said, letting go of her arm and placing his hand on her shoulder. "Just hang on to me, stretch your legs and run. It'll be amazing!"

"Er, I don't think so." Charlie glared at him. "I don't want to end up on the floor."

"Heh heh. See where you're coming from there. OK, we'll walk until we get to the border. But then you're in my hands, alright?"

"Huh?"

"You'll see. Now, which way?"

"Straight on, as far as I know. Like I said, I've walked here before. There might be a path or something."

"Then let's find it."

They started to walk. It wasn't quite as difficult to find a route through as either of the hedgehogs had thought – there seemed to be lights flickering in the distance that sent a warm light weaving its way through the loosely-distanced trees.

"Humph. The guard," mumbled Charlie.

Eventually the princess put her hand in front of Sonic. "Right there," she said, gesturing to a few flickering lights in the near distance. Torches. "Now we just need to figure out a way to get past them…"

"I already had that one figured out."

"Oh, uh-huh?"

"Charlie, remember when I said you were in my hands after this point?"

"Ye-es. What did you mean?"

"I meant you're in my hands…literally!"

"You…you what?"

Sonic laughed again, and he swung her right off her feet into his arms, bridal style. "Hang on!" The speed demon gave her a wink and began to shoot through the trees. Charlie gasped, too frightened and surprised to scream, and buried her face against his neck. She couldn't even tell how fast they were going…

"You alright there?" The blue blur smiled at the back of Charlie's head. He was quite proud of the way he'd surprised her.

"What…what's happening?" she mumbled into his shoulder.

"Just lift your head up!"

Uneasily, Charlie lifted her face away from Sonic's neck. She was shaking, and her eyes were wide with fear. Sonic gave her a grin as she looked him in the eye.

"Are we…?" Charlie stared around at the blurred landscape whizzing past them. The flurries of green and brown and fiery yellow were all blended into each other as Sonic sped along the Esavanian border. The wind tugged at her hair and clothes like an impatient toddler pining for attention, and it seemed as if they were dashing through another world, completely parallel to the clear landscape of Mobius.

"That's right. We're moving close to the speed of sound. Not so bad, is it?"

"Whoah…"

"Heh heh!"

"Wait a second, Sonic…aren't we supposed to be crossing the border, not just running past it?"

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Hold tight!"

Charlie obeyed, and Sonic swerved to the right with a swift shift of his foot. The surge of wind was amazing…as if it were driving against them, trying to hold them back. But it was still no match for the blue hedgehog Sonic. Charlie was blinded as two yellow blurs whipped past them and she felt a rush of heat. Hanging onto Sonic's neck, she squinted to stop the heat from burning her eyes. This was the most thrilling experience she'd ever had in her life.

Finally, Sonic skidded to a halt well away from the golden flickers and set Charlie down on the grass. The princess stared at him, stunned.

"How did you do that?"

"They don't call me the fastest thing alive for nothing, you know," replied Sonic. "Was that a thrill or what?"

"Where are we?" she asked.

"About three miles away from Esavania. Forest is way past." He suddenly yawned. "And I don't know 'bout you, but I'm in serious need of a nap." He lay down on the grass. "Good thing it's warm tonight."

"OK…wait, what?" Charlie was about to lie down too when she realised they were in a field. She'd never slept outside the castle in her life, and always in a nightgown. Her heart sank.

"We're sleeping here?"

Sonic opened one eye. "Sure. Where else?"

"I just realised I didn't bring any essentials."

"Essentials?"

"My nightgown, my hairbrush, that kind of thing."

"Heh. You don't want to sleep in a nightgown out here – you'd freeze. Better to stay in your clothes."

"Sleep? In my clothes?"

"Exactly."

"That's crazy."

"Do you want to go back then?"

She hesitated. "No."

"Then you'll have to get used to this. It's what adventuring's like."

"What about food and water?"

"We'll find it in the morning."

He closed his eyes again. Charlie sighed. "Fine. But if I wake up with bugs crawling all over me, I'm holding you responsible."

Sonic smiled to himself, not opening his eyes, as Charlie uneasily laid herself on the grass. "Ugh," she retched under her breath. The grass was a bit damp. Gently easing her back down, she allowed herself to relax and look at the sky above. It was filled with glittering stars. She admitted to herself that she never saw this from her castle window. Maybe this wasn't going to be as awful as it now looked.

-o-

_So now Sonic and Charlie are on their big adventure! What surprises could be waiting for them around the corner?_

_For update info, check profile _


	6. The Chaos Emerald

Sonic was awoken by a warm golden light shining through his eyelids. He let them slowly lift open to reveal the bright, fresh, azure-blue mid-morning sky above him, littered with fluffy white clouds that drifted gently in the cool breeze. He took a breath. The soft, lemony fragrance of summer grass found its way up his nose and into his head, soothing his mind and ending his slumber softly.

He heaved himself off the ground, rubbing his eyes. He yawned and stretched, then brushed the loose grass off his arms. Time to wake Charlie and get back to business.

"Ah…ah…ACHOO!"

Sonic's head snapped to where the sneeze had come from. Charlie was sitting in exactly the same spot she'd fallen asleep in last night, and her hands were over her face.

"Ahhh…oh crud…ACHOO!"

"Charlie? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I just…ah…have…ah…ah…I have…ACHOO! Morning hay fever." Charlie rubbed her eyes and Sonic finally saw her face. Her eyes were red and her face was flushed. She obviously didn't take kindly to grass.

"ACHOO!"

"Bless you."

"Thank…ACHOO! You."

Sonic leaned over and began to rub her back, thinking it would help. "You didn't tell me you had hay fever."

"I…ACHOO! I didn't know. This is my first time in the…ACHOO! Countryside on a morning. I'll be fine…ACHOO! Later."

"You need to get walking, huh?"

"Y…ah…y…ACHOO! Yeah."

"Then let's go!" Sonic grabbed her hand and pulled her off the ground. Charlie looked a little bewildered – she obviously wasn't used to forced actions like this. But she didn't resist, and brushed the grass off the back of her dress once she was on her feet. "Darn," she mumbled. "There's grass stains on my dress."

"Your point?" retorted Sonic. "Another thing about adventuring. Getting dirty."

"Learned it the hard way."

Sonic folded his arms and chortled.

"So what…ACHOO! What now?" asked Charlie. "Where do we go to take the battle to Eggman?"

"We need to find his base first."

"What?" Charlie stared at him in disbelief. "How…how long will that take?"

"Could take a while," murmured Sonic. "But finding it is the easy part. Not that the fighting part is hard, of course," He patted Charlie's shoulder to reassure her. "But it's harder than finding the base."

Charlie put her hands on her hips. "Then let's get going," she said. "What are we waiting for?"

"That's the spirit!" laughed Sonic, and swung Charlie into his arms the same way he'd done the night before. "Be prepared for crazy fast acceleration, princess!"

"Wait…I didn't…YIKES!" Charlie yelped as Sonic went from zero to sixty in less than a nanosecond, and sped up even more in the three that followed. The countryside was almost a blur as Sonic surged across the lush Mobian landscape. Charlie, not quite as frightened as she had been the first time the blue blur had run like this, stared around her in awe at the hills, forests and lakes that littered the planet.

"This is amazing…" she mused aloud.

"What is?"

"This world…I've never seen it…it's beautiful," Charlie breathed in the fresh air deeply.

"Heh heh," grinned Sonic. "You ain't seen nothing yet."

The cocky teenager increased his speed a little so that everything Charlie could see around her merged smoothly into one blurry blue-and-green mass. No single object was definable any longer, apart from a little pink chao that competitively began to hover alongside them.

"Heh! You want some competition, little guy?" asked Sonic. His feet began to pound even harder on the earth, and his legs moved one in front of the other faster than a cheetah's. The chao looked a little bewildered as it too became part of the blur, and disappeared behind them.

"He was cute," said Charlie. "What was he?"

"A chao. Yeah, I'll take your word, they're cute. But even one able to fly as fast as that one can't get ahead of me when it comes to running."

"I already discovered that." Charlie sighed and let her eyes drift over the fuzzy landscape that seemed to be turning blue. "What in the world…?"

"Charlie, princess of Esavania, welcome to Wave Ocean!" Sonic slowed his pace a little so that the fuzz disappeared like a camera coming into focus, and the sight of a crystal-blue sparkling ocean met Charlie's astonished eyes.

"Oh my goodness…Sonic, it's…"

"It's the sea, Charlie. A wonderful sight, aside from how it feels." He shuddered. "Bleugh. I _hate _feeling that stuff on my legs."

"It's breathtaking," said Charlie, her voice quiet. "I've never seen such a beautiful place before."

"It's beautiful alright," Sonic smiled at her. He was beginning to admire this girl's taste in scenery.

"If only Esavania was closer to the coast…what the heck?"

"What?"

"What's that over there?" Charlie pointed as Sonic skidded to a halt. He followed the direction of her finger and saw what appeared to be an island floating in the sky. He laughed.

"Oh, that? That's Angel Island. The Floating Island."

"Floating? What keeps it in the sky?"

"Power from this massive jewel called the Master Emerald," replied Sonic. "If it's not set in this big stone shrine thingy, then the chaos energy can't be channelled to the island. Hey presto, SPLOOSH."

"It falls into the ocean?"

"To put it bluntly, yeah."

"Ouch," said Charlie. "I don't like the idea of living on there. What if someone steals the emerald?"

"That's exactly why a certain knuckleheaded pal of mine stays there to guard it. It's some ancient tribal law thing that was passed down through his family."

"He's not an echidna by any chance, is he?"

"Yes! How did you know that?"

"History lessons. The ancient echidna tribe. The sacred gems that they worshipped. All that jazz."

"You're pretty sharp."

"I paid attention."

Sonic laughed and tossed her an inch into the air. "Ready to start again?"

"Any time!"

The speed demon lurched forward, this time going from zero to two hundred in the same amount of time he'd gone to sixty before. Charlie yelped again, clinging onto him, but laughing at the same time. The wind whistled past their ears as the elite pair sped along the coast, Sonic frequently scanning the landscape around them.

"What are you looking for?" asked Charlie.

"Egghead's base of course. I don't have a clue where it could be."

"Neither do I, come to think of it. What am I looking for?"

"Anything with a big orange telltale emblem painted on the side of it. Should look like some demented guy with a big moustache."

"OK."

Charlie was immediately alert and scanning the landscape like Sonic. But something bugged her.

"Uh, Sonic," she mumbled. "I can't actually see anything. It's just a big blur. How am I going to spot a telltale emblem?"

"I'll slow down if it's bothering you," Sonic said reluctantly, and his legs reduced their movement by around twenty percent. The scenery became clear once again.

"Where are we now?"

"Still quite near Angel Island. If we were going a bit faster we'd have got a little further."

"You don't like slowing down, do you?"

"Nope."

Sonic continued to run, running his vision over every building on the lookout for Eggman's special emblem. It had to be somewhere; where would the evil scientist store all his robots and everything? Even Eggman wasn't that stupid. Sonic was just about to speed up again when through the corner of his eye he caught sight of a faint green glow.

"What…?" He suddenly skidded abruptly to a halt.

"Why have you stopped?" asked Charlie.

"I saw something. It was behind that rock." Sonic placed Charlie down onto the ground. They were now in a small forest clearing, and the salty smell of the sea air wasn't subtle. "Something glowing." Cautiously, he walked over to the rock he had pointed out and peered behind it…and his eyes were greeted by the radiant lush glow of the green Chaos Emerald.

"Heh heh! I knew it!" laughed the blue hedgehog. Charlie was curious.

"What have you found?"

"A Chaos Emerald!"

"A Chaos Emerald?"

"You know, one of the ancient gems the echidnas worshipped. Amazing powers, energy very valuable?"

"Yes, I know what they are. But really, you've found one?"

"Yup. It's right here."

Sonic stooped and picked up the Chaos Emerald from where it was lying behind the rock. He felt its energy crackle through his hand as he held it, walking over to Charlie.

"Wow," she said. "I've never seen one of these before. There really is no end to the wonders of the world."

"You are lucky to see this. I hardly ever get to look at, let alone hold a Chaos Emerald because we never know where they are."

"Oh?"

"Well, when the emeralds are altogether in one place, you can use them to create Chaos Control and give yourself amazing powers. I've done that a few times," Sonic smiled at his memories. "Trouble is, once your power runs out, the emeralds fly off and are scattered all over the universe, so before you can get your powers again you have to find them. This can be difficult because there's a chance they might be on other planets."

"Wow. They sure like to go walkabout."

Sonic laughed. This girl was proving to be just as cocky as him, and they were getting along just fine.

"So what do we do with it?" continued Charlie.

"Take it with us, of course! It might come in handy." Sonic tucked the emerald securely between his quills and proceeded to start walking. Charlie followed him, rather enjoying herself.

"Where should we look next?" she asked.

"I dunno. Let's improvise. I vote into the woods."

"I'm with you." They continued walking, but suddenly there was a rustle from a bush. Sonic and Charlie stopped dead in their tracks. "Did you hear that?"

"Shhh." Sonic put his hand up to shush her as there was another rustle. It was closer now.

The blue hedgehog took a step forward, very quietly. Another rustle. And another. They were getting incredibly close. Sonic narrowed his eyes at the bushes in front of him. They seemed to be moving…

Cautiously, he took one more step forward…and suddenly, all in a blur of red, a figure leapt out of the bushes right onto Sonic, who collapsed in surprise. Charlie screamed.

The figure wrestled Sonic to the ground. Sonic tried to fight back, but the scarlet figure's grip on him was incredibly strong. He fought to get his reflexes back, pushing at his attacker's hands…which were covered by odd mitten-like gloves, with spikes on the knuckles. He was sure he'd seen them before…Frantically, he tried to catch a glimpse of the lunatic's face. And to Sonic's ultimate surprise, he found himself looking up from the ground into the eyes of a very familiar red echidna!

-o-

_No prizes for guessing who THAT is!_

_For update info, check profile _


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